Can't Move On 2: In Memory of You
by Sbutler287
Summary: What happens when the tables are turned and it's now up to Sara to fight for Michael? Will Michael and Sara get their happy ending now that Emily is the one calling the shots? This is the sequel to Can't Move On.
1. Mystery Woman

Can't Move On 2:

In Memory of You

Chapter 1

Mystery Woman

_**Michael**_

The riot had grown out of control, there were dangerous inmates running wildly through the hallways of the trashed prison. But he didn't care; he only cared about reaching her in time. She was in danger because of him and now it was up to him to save her.

He crawled through the musky crawl space trying to navigate his way to the infirmary. He heard the shouting of inmates below and pulled the panel from under him. In the next room he could see her boxed in and trying to fight off the advancing criminals. He pulled the panels back into place and moved further down the hall until he knew he was directly above the exam room. The room was full of smoke and he could barely see her. He reached down and gently touched her shoulder. Her head shot up to look at him as the shrill beeping filled the air.

Michael was shaken awake by the ringing of his alarm clock. He rested his arm over his face trying to yield off the sunlight shining through the large window next to his bed. This wasn't the first time he had had a dream similar to this one. Each one featuring the same woman, but each time he was never able to see her face. At first he thought maybe it was memory but as the week wore on he tried convince himself otherwise.

In his dreams it was becoming more and more apparent that this was a woman he truly cared for and maybe even loved, but that was impossible right? He was getting married to Emily and she was a blonde so she obviously wasn't the mystery woman in his dreams. And it couldn't possibly be a memory because if he really was in love with this woman why would he be getting married to Emily? Who marries a person when they're in love with somebody else? Obviously this just had to be a weird dream... right?

_**Sara**_

Sara and Lincoln walked through the heavy doors of the police station and into the sunlight for the first time in 4 days. They had been kept in individual holding cells deep within the police station while the detectives worked on trying to find enough evidence to convict them. After an exhausting 4 day search with no evidence to show for it they had no choice other than to release them.

LJ stood outside leaning up against the car as his father and Sara approached.

"Good morning!" LJ said with a smile "How are my little fugitives doing today?"

"Oh just shut up." Lincoln replied crankily as he flopped into the passengers' seat.

"Nice to see you too Dad." LJ smirked as he and Sara climbed into the car as well.

"Have you heard anything about Michael?" Sara asked from the backseat as they drove down the road.

"Yeah, I've been following him like you guys asked and he was finally released from the hospital yesterday."

"Did he have any more complications or any other problems?" Sara asked with concern.

"I don't think so. He still doesn't remember anything but he looked okay yesterday."

"Where is he now?" Lincoln piped in.

"Some apartment on the other side of town."

"Well let's go. We'll storm the castle and tell him about all of this and everything can go back to normal."

"It's not that easy. With amnesia as severe as Michael's a sensory overload to all of his memories will just overwork his brain. That combined with his LLI could cause some serious damage and a whole mess of things could go wrong and trust me it won't be good, I've saw it plenty of times during my residency." Sara said leaning her head against the cool window.

"That and Emily has put out a restraining order out against you two." LJ informed them.

"Great." Lincoln mumbled "Now what are we supposed to do?"

Sara gave a slight smile "I'm working on a plan."


	2. Pancakes and New Faces

**Chapter 2**

**Pancakes and New faces**

_Sara_

"Sara?" Lincoln gently nudged her awake from her position on the couch.

"Yeah." she mumbled groggily sitting up letting the text book that was lying on her stomach fall to the ground.

"What time did you go to bed last night?" Lincoln asked with a hint of concern.

"Um... 4:00." she answered rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes "What time is it?"

"A little after eight. Why were up so late?"

"I was brushing up on amnesia and trying to figure out the best way to get Michael's memory back."

"Anything good?"

Sara looked down at her hands "No."

"Oh...well I'm sure you'll figure something out." Lincoln reassured her "In the meantime how about some famous Burrows' blue berry pancakes?"

Sara gave him a small smile "Sounds great."

_Michael_

Michael stumbled into the living room with half lidded eyes.

"Morning Mikey!" Emily greeted cheerfully.

"OW." he yelled out in pain as his foot collided with the coffee table.

"You okay?" Emily asked as he walked up to sit at the kitchen breakfast bar.

"Fine. Every morning I hit that thing and you would think after 3 years living in this place I would learn."

"Just give yourself some time to readjust. I bet some coffee is just what you need." she said placing the cup in front of him.

"Thanks." he mumbled while taking a sip "What are you doing here so early?"

"Figured I would come over and make you some breakfast. I made your favorite, French toast."

"Actually, for some reason I feel like blue berry pancakes."

"Oh, alright pancakes it is." Emily said turning back to the stove "That's probably best. We have a big day today; you'll need your strength."

"Big day?"

"Yeah, there's someone really special I want you to meet."

_Sara_

"Now tell me the truth Sara." Lincoln said sitting across from her at the table "Are those not the best pancakes you've had in your entire life."

"Alright I admit it. They are pretty good." Sara said with a smile taking another bite.

"Pretty good? Are you kidding me? They're fantastic."

"Okay Lincoln, these are the most fantastic pancakes in the world."

"Just fantastic uh." Lincoln smirked as he took a sip of his coffee.

Sara shook her head "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

Lincoln perked up at that, "Yeah I am pretty great aren't I?"

Just then LJ walked into the kitchen. He was wearing boxers and a t-shirt and his hair was ruffled and sticking up from the tossing and turning he had done over the course of the night.

"Nice hair man." Lincoln joked when he saw his son.

"Shut up." LJ replied crankily as he plopped into one of the chairs. He looked over and spotted the stack of pancakes on the counter "Ooh pancakes. I forgot it was Saturday."

"Take notes Sara: the way to always turn your teenager's frown upside down is to present them with blue berry pancakes." Lincoln stated making Sara laugh.

"So Sara, I take it you've already heard Dad's 'I make the world's best pancakes' speech?" LJ asked sitting back down at the table.

"Pretty much." Sara laughed. "Is this something you do every Saturday?"

"Yeah, when Uncle Mike and Dad were kids they used to have pancakes every Saturday. Dad and I did it when I was a kid too; I guess it just kinda stuck." LJ said taking a huge bite.

The room suddenly got quiet over the mention of the one member of the family that seemed to be missing. Sara pushed back her plate and picked up her coffee in silent thought.

"So anyways..." Lincoln said trying to break the silent tension hanging in the air. "Why did you sleep on the couch last night Sara? I told you you could sleep in Michael's room."

"I couldn't sleep in there." Sara said drawing circles on the table "Smells too much like him."

Lincoln stayed quiet not quite knowing what to say to reassure her.

"Seriously though if it's too much trouble I could just get a hotel room..."

Lincoln held up his hand to stop her "It's no trouble at all Sara; you're family, that's what family does. Besides Mike would kill me if I let you out of my sight."

"Yeah." Sara smiled a bit.

Sara had never had a real family. All her life while growing up it was just her, her dad, and her mom. Dad worked all the time and was never home while her mother just drank herself to death. Now for the first time she felt like she had a real family. She was only missing one thing for her family to be complete.

_Michael_

The doorbell to Michael's apartment rang throughout the flat.

"I'll get it." he heard Emily yell from outside his bedroom door while he finished getting dressed.

He pulled his shirt over his head and went to join them in the living room.

Emily had her back turned to him and was talking to the young man who had just arrived.

Michael cleared his throat and Emily snapped around to face him. A smile spread across her face as she stepped to the side, giving Michael a clear view of the man who had just arrived.

"Michael, this is my brother Robert." she introduced them.

"Nice to meet you." Michael greeted awkwardly, extending his hand.

"Man put that away." Robert smiled pushing away his hand and hugging Michael. "Is that anyway to greet your best friend?"

"I guess not." Michael replied shyly.

"I know your confused right now, but I promise buddy I'm gonna help you remember everything."

"Michael, why don't you go grab us some sodas." Emily butted in.

"Sure." he replied, quickly exiting the room.

As soon as she was sure he was out of earshot Emily turned back around to her brother.

"So we're clear on everything?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I'm still not sure why you need me to do this." Robert replied.

"Because I know what's best for Michael, whether he thinks so or not, and to make sure nothing goes wrong and that he doesn't stray, I need you to be there to stop him if he does. If he tells you anything that suggests he might start remembering something he shouldn't, you tell me and I'll fix everything. Got it."

"Got it."


	3. Meeting You

**Chapter 3**

**Meeting You**

_Michael_

"So how long have we been best friends?" Michael asked as he and Robert walked along the pier.

"Umm... since you and Emily first got together, about two years." Robert replied looking out into the water.

"Two years? Emily told me we've been together a little under a year."

"Oh yeah, that's what I meant. What can I say I'm a guy? We have a horrible sense of time." Robert quickly tried to brush off his slip up.

"But..."

"Hey, you want a corn dog?" Robert quickly interrupted "I'll go get us one."

Before Michael could protest Robert flew in the opposite direction heading for the vendor on the other side of the pier.

Michael made his way through the crowds. He reached the edge and peered over the railing and into the crystal clear Panamanian waters. He felt so at peace at that moment. No confusing memories and meeting not-so-new people, just him and the ocean. His serenity was interrupted however by the shouting of a man behind him.

"Be the change you want to see in the world today people!" the man yelled passing out his flyers "Donate money to the United Charity Funds today!"

Something odd struck Michael just then. "Be the change you want to see in the world." It sounded so familiar and made his heart flutter a bit at the phrase.

Without watching where he was going, Michael turned back around and accidentally collided with someone, sending them both tumbling to the ground in the process.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." the woman said distractedly as she picked up her books that had scattered all over the ground.

"Don't be, it was my fault." Michael said helping her gather up the books.

"I can be such a klutz sometimes; I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be it really was my fault, I should learn to watch where I'm..." Michael trailed off as he looked up for the first time and took in the face of woman before him "...going." he finished swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat as his eyes locked with hers.

His chest felt tight and his stomach was doing flips. Those eyes, they seemed so familiar yet so new at the same time. She returned his gaze; her own held an equal amount of familiarity and adoration in them. He knew he should probably look away, he knew he was staring but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't. Her eyes drifted upwards a bit finally breaking contact.

"You're bleeding." her voice finally broke through startling him.

"Excuse me?"

"You're eye..." she said gently bringing her hand above his left eye "You must have cut it when you fell."

She turned around to her purse and pulled out a band-aid and small alcohol wipe.

"You don't have too, it's really not that bad." but somehow he knew he was just wasting his breath; there was no stopping her.

"This may sting a little." she said bringing the wipe to the cut, the familiar touch of her skin to his made his heart beat even faster than it already was.

"I'm Michael by the way." he said with a small wince "And you are?"

"Sara." she introduced herself "Sara Tancredi."

"That wouldn't be Dr. Tancredi, would it?" he asked making he stop her ministrations and look at him as something flashed across her face; hope perhaps. But hope of what exactly?

"You know who I am?"

"No." he answered and saw her face drop immediately as she went back to applying the bandage. "I just figured since you were doing such a good job patching me up you must be one. So is that a yes?"

"Yes, I'm a doctor." she said with a hint of disappointment as she smoothed the bandage flaps against skin. "And you're all set."

"Thank you." he said with a smile helping her to her feet.

The sound of his ringing cell phone pierced the now silent air.

"I'm sorry, give me just a sec." he said quickly answering his phone.

"Michael, where are you? You were supposed to meet me for dinner 20 minutes ago." Emily's voice called out on the other end.

"I'm sorry I got caught up. I'll be there soon."

"Okay, just hurry up."

"Alright." he quickly dismissed her and hung up the phone turning his attention back to Sara.

"I'm sorry about that. I'm running late and I have to go." he said but made no move to leave, it suddenly seemed very hard to say goodbye.

"I thought you had to leave." Sara said with a smile seeing his hesitation and not too eager for him to leave her once again either.

"I do." he said with a small chuckle "But for some reason I'm having a hard time leaving."

"You're not the only one." Sara replied "Michael..." she started but was once again interrupted by the ringing of Michael's cell phone.

Michael let out a groan of frustration as he sent her another apologetic grin; he flipped his phone open and turned away to take the call.

"I know, I'm on my way now." he quickly called out into the receiver flipping it closed once again as Emily's annoyed voice rang out on the other side.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" he said turning around again, but it was too late, Sara was gone.

He looked left and right, quickly scanning the crowd for any sign of her.

"Sorry it took so long. The line was huge." Robert said approaching him from behind "Looking for someone?" he asked when he saw Michael's attention was else where.

"No, nobody."

_Sara_

As soon as the door was shut firmly behind her Sara broke down. The tears coming fast and hot on her cheeks.

"Sara?" Lincoln's gentle voice came from the hallway "What's the matter?"

Sara wiped her eyes "Nothing, it's just allergies."

"Sara, tell me what happened." Lincoln gently pried.

"I umm... I was on my way back from the library when I bumped into someone."

"Who?"

"Michael." Sara exhaled loudly.

"What happened? Does he remember anything?" Lincoln asked with a hint of excitement.

Sara shook her head from side to side "No."

The disappointment was evident on Lincoln's face as she continued "I mean I thought for a second maybe, but there wasn't."

Sara walked away without another word and locked herself in Michael's room.

---------------------

"Sara?" Sara heard the familiar voice call her name and felt that same familiar tingling sensation spreading throughout her body like it always did whenever he touched her.

She quickly jerked her eyes open and there was Michael crouched down beside her.

"Michael!" she said quickly sitting up. "What are you doing here? Have you seen Lincoln? Do you..."

"Whoa! Calm down." Michael chuckled at her excitement "Yes, I've already seen Lincoln; we talked before I woke you up."

"I don't understand. What are you doing here?"

"Well after we talked this afternoon everything started coming back, Fox River, breaking out, the accident with John or whatever his name was." Michael said bring his hand up to her cheek "Seeing you again. I really missed you Sara."

He wiped away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry I forgot about you. I didn't think it was possible." he said giving her a small smile.

"It's me who should be sorry Michael. I know I hurt you when I told you I didn't love you. I'm so sorry, I was just trying to protect you, and I never wanted to hurt you like that."

Michael shook his head "Don't be. All that matters is that we're together now and I'll never let anything come between that." he said leaning his forehead against hers.

"I love you so much." Sara whispered pulling back to look into his eyes.

Michael smiled at that "I love you too Sara."

Sara grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his mouth down to meet hers. He kissed her back with a passion she wasn't sure she would ever experience again. She parted her lips against his as he deepened the kiss, pushing her back down onto the bed.

"Sara?" she heard the voice calling her but ignored it as she lost herself, not wanting to let go. "Sara?"

"Sara, you have to go." Michael said breaking their kiss.

"No, I don't want to leave you again." Sara said squeezing her eyes shut to try and hold on just a bit longer.

"Sara, look at me." Michael urged her gently.

She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Everything's going to be okay. I'm always right here." he said pointing to her heart "Even if I'm not always here." he said gesturing around the room.

She nodded her understanding and kissed him once more before her eyes were forced open to the sight of Lincoln standing over her.

"Good morning sleepy head."


	4. Fate or Destiny?

**Chapter 4**

**Fate or Destiny?**

_Sara_

Sara was in the kitchen filling her travel mug up with coffee when a half asleep Lincoln stumbled in.

"How are you even awake right now?" he asked as he plopped down into one of the chairs.

"Well good morning to you too Linc." Sara said cheerily.

Lincoln glared at her in return, daring her to make one more comment "Just pass the coffee would ya?"

Sara smiled as she slid the cup across the table, watching as he drained half of it in one sip.

"Okay, I think that gives me about 2 and half minutes to make it back to bed." he said as he stood back up and took a few steps before he turned back around. "Why did you say that you're up?"

"Thanks to Bruce, an old friend of my father's; I was able to get a job at the hospital downtown. I start today."

"Oh," Lincoln said unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just, I thought we were going to be working on a plan for Michael, not going to work."

"Lincoln, I got a job at the hospital. The same hospital that Michael was admitted to, the same hospital that has records of its previous patients." Sara explained.

Lincoln looked up at her, his face completely blank.

"Oh my God you're slow in the morning." Sara said as she tried to explain more slowly "As a doctor I get access to patient records. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get down to the storage room and find Michael's file so I can find out exactly what's wrong so we can fix it."

Lincoln looked at her like she was speaking Chinese, still obviously lost.

"Sara..." Sara said slowly pointing to herself "fix...Michael."

"I'm going to go back to bed." Lincoln said turning around and walking into his bedroom.

Sara stood there for a moment still not quite believing what had just taken place. She knew Michael had gotten all the brains in the family but there was no way Lincoln could be that much of a space case.

"Unbelievable." she muttered to herself shaking her head as she walked out the door.

_Michael_

Michael nervously tapped the end of his chair as he looked up at the clock on the wall.

"Michael, would you stop fidgeting already?" Emily asked putting her hand on his forearm "Everything's going to be fine."

Michael nodded his understanding as he stared down at her hand on his. He still couldn't stop thinking about what had happened two days ago. Words could not describe how he felt when was with Sara. It was like he was lost in a huge crowd, Emily was there, and leading the way as usual but he just seemed to get more and more lost as he followed her. Then he saw Sara and suddenly it was like he was going in the right direction again, but then she left and it was chaos all over again.

He still remembered how it felt when her skin had touched his, the initial spark that never faded. But as he looked down at Emily's hand he felt no spark. It all made no sense, if only he could see her one last time...

"Mr.Scofield." the nurse interrupted his thoughts as she came into the waiting room "You can come back now."

"Okay." he said as he got up from his seat.

"I'll wait for you out here okay?" Emily asked from her seat.

"Yeah." he said as he followed the nurse to the hospital's exam room.

He took a seat on the gurney as the nurse filled out his chart.

"The doctor, who did your surgery, Dr. Brunson, was called in for an emergency consultation so I'll have the on call doctor come in and see you."

"Alright." Michael said looking down at his hands, eager to get this visit over with.

A few moments later the door opened and in stepped his doctor.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Tancredi; I'll be covering for Dr. Brunson..." she said coming in without looking up as she flipped open his chart."It's nice to meet you Mr...Scofield?"

This made both Sara and Michael look up at the same time.

"Michael?" Sara said shocked as their eyes met.

"Sara." Michael said not being able to contain the huge grin that was spreading like wildfire across his face. "I didn't know you worked here."

"It's my first day." she replied, a smile of her own touching her lips. "You're my first patient."

"Whoa, I guess its fate."

"Fate uh." Sara said with a smirk, taking her seat in front of him "You really believe in fate?"

"Maybe not fate, but I do believe in destiny." he said watching her intently, before adding more seriously "Sara, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since the other day. And now you're here and I feel like it's a sign or something."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Sara said losing herself in his blue eyes. She finally snapped herself out of it and concentrated on the task at hand. "So, how about we get those stitches out."

She removed his stitches, taking her time as she tenderly removed each one.

"All done." she said once the last one was disposed of.

"Great." Michael said not sounding too thrilled about the possible ending of his appointment.

Sara glanced above to the band-aid that was still covering the cut over his eye.

"May I?" she asked gesturing to the bandage.

"By all means." he said with a smile as she slowly peeled away the flaps.

"Looks good." she said gently touching the healing skin. "No sign of infection."

"What can I say? I had a good doctor patch me up." he said with a hint of flirtation in his voice.

"Yeah well..." but before Sara could finish the nurse came into the room.

"Sorry Dr. Tancredi but we have a back up out here." the nurse said quickly before exiting the room again.

"Guess that means our time is up." Michael's face fell with disappointment.

"I guess it is." Sara said looking down at the floor.

Sara wanted nothing more than to tell him everything right then and there. But she still needed more information about his condition before she could fully open up to him.

"Take care of yourself Michael."

"You too Sara." Michael said lightly gripping her forearm before exiting the room.

When he made it to the waiting room Emily was still waiting for him.

"It's about time." she said getting up and walking over to him. "Who knew stitches took 20 minutes to take out."

"I know strange." Michael replied casually trying to hide his smile.

He looked back towards the exam room. He hated more than anything having to just leave like that again. But what could he do? She was a doctor and he was her patient. He would probably never see her again after today. He had been given a clean bill of health, which meant no more hospital which in turn meant no more Dr. Tancredi.

Suddenly a plan started forming in Michael's head. It still freaked him out when his brain did that, just naturally plan things out. He was going to see Sara again; this hospital was his only connection to her so he just had to find a way to get back here.


	5. Happy Birthday

**_Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. After last Monday's episode it's hard to get inspired to write about something that you may never have again. :\ Anyway, I tried my hardest and I hoped it turned out okay._ **

**Chapter 5**

**Happy Birthday**

_Michael_

"Do you think there's a part of you that enjoys this?" Sara's voiced echoed through Michael's head as moments of a life he didn't recognized flashed through his head.

"What'd you care? As long as she left the door open you." the burly man on the floor asked before Michael's foot connected with his face.

"It was real Sara, you and me. It's real."

Michael's eyes shot open as the shrill cry of the alarm clock pierced the air. He reached over and turned the alarm off as he tried to catch his breath. The dreams were becoming more and more intense, each one containing Sara in some way.

It had only been 24 hours and he was already missing her. He flung the covers off his body and walked into the living room. He looked everywhere until he finally found what he was looking for.

He poised the jagged piece of wood over his skin as he prepared to do what he knew was necessary.

_Sara_

Sara was sitting at the table drinking her coffee and reading the paper when Lincoln walked in sporting a huge grin.

Sara looked up to see Lincoln smiling at her "What?"

Lincoln didn't respond; he just stood there smiling at her.

"Would you just tell me instead of just standing there? And for God's sake wipe that ridiculous grin off your face, you look like a moron."

"Don't be moody; you can't be moody on your special day." Lincoln said sitting down across from her.

"Special day? What are you talking about?"

"Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday."

Sara's face fell when the words came out of his mouth.

"Who told you that?" she asked turning back to her paper.

"Why what's wrong? Why aren't you more excited?" Lincoln asked with a hint of concern.

"Who gets happy about getting older?" Sara tried to laugh it off.

"Oh come on you look hot for 30!!" Lincoln laughed.

"Gee thanks Linc." Sara said with mock insult.

"Your welcome. Now back on topic, why are you so upset?"

"I'm not upset." Sara defended.

"Sara." Lincoln said with firmness.

"Okay, okay." Sara finally relented. "The last birthday I had, the best birthday I had, was spent with Michael. When he gave me that flower it truly meant the world to me. But after everything that happened with the breakout, I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I lost it." Sara said tears forming in her eyes. "I looked everywhere, but I could never find it. It's bad enough that I won't be spending my birthday with him, I just wish I still had that one part of him with me today."

"I'm so sorry Sara." Lincoln offered his support.

"It's no big deal." Sara said wiping her eyes and getting up from the table. "I have to go; I don't want to be late to work."

-----------------------

Michael sat nervously tapping the leg off the chair with his foot. He didn't know why he was so nervous; there really was no reason to be.

The door of the examination room opened and in stepped the doctor, HIS doctor.

Sara's eyes widened as she took in Michael sitting in chair in the corner of the room.

"Michael!" she said hurrying over to him. "Is everything okay? Are you having any symptoms from your surgery?" she looked down and spied his bandaged hand "My God what happened?" she asked taking it gently into her hands.

Michael smiled at her obvious concern for his well being. "It's nothing really. I was um, putting a new table together and I got a killer splinter from a piece of the wood."

Sara nodded, her concern still obvious in her expression "May I?" she asked gesturing to his hand.

"Be my guest." he smiled as she took hold of his hand.

He watched in amazement as she unwrapped his hand. How she was always able to be so gentle was still a mystery to him.

"This might sting a little." she said as she used the tweezers to remove the small sliver of wood from his flesh.

She set aside the offending object and wrapped his hand up in a fresh bandage. "You're all set."

"Something wrong?" Michael asked noticing the way she was distancing herself.

"Nothing." she said smiling at him.

"Sara, I know something's up. Please tell me. I hate seeing you upset." Michael pleaded with her.

"It's my birthday." she answered him.

"Today? Happy Birthday." Michael smiled at her.

"Thank you." Sara said looking down at her hands.

"Sit tight. I've got something for you." Michael said turning around.

Sara tried to see what he was doing but Michael wiggled a warning finger at her "No peeking."

"Yes sir!" Sara smiled covering her eyes.

The sound of rustling paper could be heard as Michael worked diligently while Sara kept her eyes shut tight.

"Okay." Michael said turning back around. "Open your eyes."

Sara opened her eyes and they landed on Michael's out stretched hand, a small origami rose sitting on his palm.

"Michael." Sara gasped as she took the rose from him.

"It's not perfect. But I just wanted to make you something nice." Michael said looking down nervously as he fiddled with his hands.

Sara sniffled causing Michael to look up.

"Sara?" he said reaching up to wipe away her tears. "Please don't cry. I'm sorry, if you really don't like it..."

"No!" Sara said, grasping the hand that rested on her cheek. "I love it, thank you so much."

He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly to him.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

"Thank you so much Michael. You have no idea how much it means having you here with me today."

"I'll always be here when you need me Sara, I hope you know that." Michael said tightening his arms around her.

She pulled away and looked up at him.

"Michael..." just then her beeper sounded before she could say anything further.

She sighed "I'm sorry it's an emergency I have to go." she said reluctantly heading for the door.

She stopped and turned back toward him. "Thanks again Michael." she said with a smile before walking out the door.


	6. Pirates and Promises

_AN: __I'm SO sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. My computer crashed and I lost all my work and had to start all over again. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!_

**Chapter 6**

**Pirates and Promises**

_Michael_

Michael plopped down onto his couch in exhaustion. He couldn't help but smile as the sequence of memories from his appointment with Sara played rapidly through his head. How he had given her the rose and how she had cried from what he hoped was pure happiness over the small gesture.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his door opening and shutting. Moments later Robert came into the room carrying a couple of pizza boxes.

"Hey man!" he said dropping the boxes on the coffee table in front of Michael.

"Hey." Michael replied squarely.

"What happened to you? You look like crap." Robert said going over to the extensive DVD collection in the corner.

Michael was quiet a minute. Things with Sara were going great but he was so confused. He was supposed to be getting married but he finds himself being more concerned with how he's going to get himself back at the Hospital to see Sara more than he was about planning his own wedding. He looked over at Robert who was intricatley scanning the DVD racks. He really needed to talk to someone, someone who could hopefully help him clear his head about things. Who better than your best fried right?

"Can I talk to you about something?" Michael finally spoke up.

"Shoot." Robert said not taking his focus away from the two movies in his hands.

"A couple of days ago I bumped into someone down at the pier. She's a doctor and she works at the Hospital. But ever since I met her I haven't been able to think about anything else. It's like for some reason I feel... drawn to her." Michael said running his hands over his face.

This finally got Robert's attention as he looked up. "What do you mean 'drawn to her'?"

"I don't know. Have you ever just met a person, even if it was just for a second, and instantly felt connected? Like God has gone out of his way to bring you together. I mean I look at her and I feel at peace. Like remembering who I am or who I was suddenly doesn't matter to me anymore because I don't want to remember a life if she wasn't in it."

Robert was at a loss for words. "What's her name?" he finally managed to ask.

"Does it matter?" Michael wondered.

"No, I guess not. I just thought that maybe I would know her; mere curiosity."

"Her name was Sara. Ring any bells?"

"No," Robert answered "But Michael as your friend can I offer up some advice?"

Michael nodded his consent and Robert continued. "Forget about her and move on. You have a great thing going with my sister and you don't want to screw it up. You're just confused right now, Emily means the world to you and you love her, don't ruin a great thing just because you're infatuated with one random doctor off the street."

Michael looked down at his hands, nodding his head.

"Promise me you'll forget about her and never see her again."

"I promise." Michael replied solumly.

"Okay, now that that bout of craziness is over how about you chose one of these movies while I use the bathroom."

Robert quickly slipped into the bathroom and locked the door. He walked over to the faucet and turned on the water as he pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket.

The call was answered on the second ring.

"Yeah." the voice sounded from the other end.

"Emily, it's me." Robert whispered.

"Robert? What's wrong?"

"You told me to report back anything I heard from Michael. Well, I finally got something."

_Sara_

Sara unlocked the door and stepped into the hallway of the home she shared with Lincoln and LJ. She was beginning to ponder why it was so unnaturally quiet when she heard Lincoln scream.

She reacted quickly, breaking into a sprint, she raced into the living room where the source was coming from.

She stopped dead in the doorway as she took in the scene before her.

LJ was standing on top of the couch towering over Lincoln who was tied up on the floor.

"SURRENDER THE BOOTY!!" he yelled as he poked a helpless Lincoln with his plastic pirate sword.

"What the hell..."

Lincoln jerked his head toward the doorway at the sound of Sara's voice.

"Sara!" he said as he squirmed. "Don't just stand there help me."

"Hi Sara." LJ said cheerily waving in her direction before turning his attention back to the task at hand.

"LJ, what are you doing?" Sara started to laugh.

"He's going completley INSANE is what he's doing." Lincoln shouted as he flailed about. "I was just watching TV when the little monster snuck up behind me and tied me up."

Sara was laughing so hard she was turning red.

"I'm going to be a pirate this year for Halloween and I just wanted to get into character." LJ replied innocently.

"LJ..." Sara said trying hard to pull herself together. "LJ, you should be ashamed of yourself." she said trying to sound stern "Tieing up your poor father like that. Give me the sword and go to your room mister."

LJ hung his head in shame as he slowly walked towards Sara and reluctantly relinquished his treasured weapon.

"Sorry Sara." he said as he sulked off to his room.

"Sorry Sara? Are you kidding me? I'm the one tied up on the ground and you apologize to her?!" Lincoln yelled in disbelief.

"Night, Linc." Sara said with a smile as she walked off to her own room, laughing and twirling the sword in her hand.

"Sara? Wait, Sara you're not going to just leave me out here are you?" Lincoln yelled in desperation but was met with silence.


	7. Heart Break Kid

**Chapter 7**

**Heart Break Kid**

_Michael_

First thing the next morning Michael was back at the Hospital. As he waited for his "doctor" to come in and see him he thought back on the events that had unfolded last night. Robert had given him sound advice on his situation with Sara, he had even gone as far as to make him promise not to come back, yet here he was.

His thoughts were soon interrupted by the door opening and a smiling Sara stepping in. "Good morning"

"Morning." Michael replied with a huge smile of his own.

"So what can I do for you today?" she asked flipping through his chart.

"Well..." Michael said putting his hand up to his nose "My nose has been bleeding and I have a headache." He lied.

"Oh," Sara said with mock concern, trying not to laugh. "You poor baby."

"It's not funny." Michael said as a small chuckle managed to escape her. "I think it's a brain tumor; I could be dying."

"No, no, you're right. I'm sorry Michael, let me check it out." She stepped up to the gurney and gently cupped her hands at the base of his skull.

Her eyes locked with his as her fingers kneaded the soft skin of his neck. As he stared back at her Michael couldn't help but be amazed at how right this felt. Like just sitting here in this room staring into the eyes of the most beautiful women he'd ever met felt so right, like this was were he was supposed to be. Ever since he had met Sara he had felt this undeniable connection. A connection so strong it literally hurt when he wasn't with her. It couldn't possibly be one-sided, could it?

"I uhh," Sara cleared her throat nervously. "I can't seem to find anything wrong, no swelling or anything. I mean I guess there could be something, but I think everything is okay."

_Rambling _Michael thought _Definately not one-sided. _

"Is there anything else bothering you?" she asked as her hands slipped forward to cup his face.

"No, I think you've covered everything. Except..." Michael trailed off as he slowly moved his head forward.

Just as their lips were about to connect the intercom sounded "Dr. Tancredi, you're needed in the ER stat."

Both let out a sigh of frustation as Sara reluctantly pulled away.

"Duty calls." Michael interjected.

"Yeah," Sara said as her beeper sounded as well. "I'm sorry Michael, I have to go." she said rushing out of the room.

Once the door was closed behind her Michael let out a groan as he leaned back on the exam table.

---------------------------

The smell of chicken and mushrooms filled his nose as Michael slipped inside his apartment.

"Hey." Emily said as Michael stepped up to the kitchen counter.

"Hey, something smells good." he replied as he inspected the contents of the pots on the stove.

"Michael, we need to talk."

"About what?" he asked as he licked the sauce off his finger.

"I talked to Robert, he told me about that other woman."

Michael felt a rush of defensiveness rush through him at the reference to Sara.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Michael dismissed.

"Don't talk to me like I'm some kind of idiot Michael Scofield!" She snapped. "I've even noticed how much happier you've been lately. I want you to tell me the truth right now!"

Michael looked down at his hands. "Okay, I met someone. Her name is Sara and I've been seeing her at the Hospital."

"So you've been cheating on me."

"No! Nothing has ever happened." Michael half lied. "She's just been treating me."

Emily jerked the engagement off her finger. "You see this Michael?" she asked pointing to the inscription.

"It says 'My One and Only,' not 'My One of Many,'" Michael looked back down guiltily.

Emily gently touched his arm "Look I know you're just confused right now. That's why I'm going to forgive this little this slip up if you swear you'll end it."

Michael looked back up at her. "Please, I don't want to lose you." she said as a tear trailed down her cheek.

He gently wiped the tear away and pulled her into his arms. "I swear, it's just you and me from now on."

And this time he meant it. He would end it first thing tomarrow, he couldn't hurt Emily like this, not when she had been so caring and honest with him, it was time to return the favor.

--------------------------------

The next morning Sara walked into the exam room to find her favorite paitient waiting for her.

"Hey Michael, what can we do for you today? Bee sting, paper cut..." she trailed off as she noticed the seriousness that resided in his face.

"Michael, what's wrong?" she asked losing her smile.

"Sara," he let out a sigh "This isn't going to work out."

"What isn't going to work out?" She asked confused.

"This. You and me. I'm getting married soon and I have to focus all my attention and efforts on my fiancee, not some doctor I'm infatuated with." Even as the words came out of his mouth Michael could feel his heart being shredded into a million pieces.

"Oh," Sara said trying to hide her own heart break, but not being able to hold back the tear that had manaaged to escape.

"I..." Sara started to say but her words were lost as Michael felt the room start to spin. He clutched his chest as he felt a sharp, intense pain shoot through it.

"Michael, oh my God Michael are you okay?" Sara's heart raced with concern as she reached his side. She gently touched his shoulder but he flinched back as his whole body started to convulse.

"I need some help in here!" Sara yelled. "It's okay Michael, you're going to be okay." she tried to sooth him, but he didn't hear any of it as the blackness consumed him.


	8. Looking Into the Past

_Here's the next installment. Sorry if it's a bit hard to follow. _

**Chapter 8**

**Looking Into the Past**

Sara held Michael's compulsive body down as the nurse rushed into the room.

"He's having a seizure, I need a 200 mg shot of Celontin." Sara yelled.

The nurse handed her the syringe as she quickly stripped of Michael's shirt and injected it into his chest. Sara placed her stethoscope over his chest.

"He's going into shock. Get me an oxygen tank and an IV."

The nurse ran out of the room to retrieve the materials as Michael's body started to relax from the effects of the drug.

Sara gently ran her hand over Michael's chest.

"You're going to be okay. Hang in there Michael." She said soothingly, trying to keep herself together.

The door opened and the nurse came in stocked with the supplies Sara asked for.

------------------------

Michael took a seat on one of the swings of the deserted playground.

"Is this seat taken?" Came a sweet voice next to him.

"Help yourself." Michael smiled at the kind woman as she took up residence beside him.

"Nice day isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess." Michael said studying the familiar looking woman beside him. "I'm sorry excuse my bluntness, but do I know you?"

The woman chuckled at that, "I would hope so. It would be pretty sad if you didn't recognize your own mother."

"My...my mother?" Michael replied throughly shocked as he jumped up. "How is that even possible? I mean you're dead."

"I prefer the term living impaired." his mother smiled.

Michael ran his hands over his head "This is insane. You can't talk to dead... sorry living impaired people."

"An exception has been made." she said patting the seat beside her "Please sit down son, there are some things we need to talk about."

Michael nodded his head respectfully taking his seat. "How did I get here?"

"You had a seizure, you're in a bit of a temporary drug-induced coma so to speak."

"But Sara..."

"She's taking care of you. Watching over you as we speak."

Michael nodded his head solemly "She's a good person."

"Yes, I know. But if you know that than why are you trying to break that poor woman's heart again?"

"It's complicated... wait! Again? What do you mean by again?"

"You did nearly the same thing a year ago. My son, always the heart breaker."

"That's impossible. I just met Sara a couple days ago."

"Honey, last year you two were practically dating. You had the forbidden romance of the century when you were in Fox River."

Michael shook his head aggresively. "No, you have me confused with someone else. Emily told me..."

"Emily." his mother shook her head in disgust. "That dreadful woman has been messing with your head sweetheart. She's not the one your supposed to be with, you can't even stand her, no one can."

"This doesn't make any sense." Michael said jumping up and pacing around the swing set.

"I know it's all really confusing honey," she said standing up and walking over to her son. "Will you come with me? There's something I want to show you."

"I don't know." Michael said unsure.

"Please, let me help you remember." she said extending her hand.

Michael was still so unsure of the never-ending battle that was being fought in his head but for some reason he totally trusted this woman. He took her hand as she delicately led him outside of the playground.

There was a flash of white light and suddenly Michael found himself in a small dark apartment.

"Where are we?" he asked as he surveyed his surroundings.

"Watch." she said pointing to a door in the corner.

The door suddenly flew open and a small boy came running into the living room.

"Linc! Linc! Where are you?" the small boy called out.

Another boy, slightly older, walked into the room. "Mike, what's wrong?"

"Is that me?" Michael asked in bewilderment.

"Shh.. listen."

"Look what I made." Little Mike said excitedly holding up a perfectly folded origami crane.

"Whoa, those are some mad skills you got there little brother." Lincoln said inspecting the impressive creation.

Little Mike beamed proudly as Lincoln led him over to the couch.

"Did I ever tell you who first thought me to make a crane?" Lincoln asked sitting down.

"Who?" Mike asked with genuine curiosity.

"When I was little I used to be afraid of the dark?"

"You?" Mike gasped in surprise.

"Yeah, but I was really little. But Mom, she would sneak in every night, just like I do to you, and put a little crane by my bed. It was her way of telling me that everything was okay. Right before she died she thought me how to make them. She told me that it was my job to do the same thing for you because she knew that she wouldn't be around to do it herself."

Mike looked down a little "Linc, I really miss Mom."

"I know you do Buddy. But it's just you and me now. I promise I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

Michael turned his attention to his mother "Brother? I... I have a brother." he asked a little teary eyed "This makes no sense, I thought I was an only child."

"Come on, there's still alot I have to show you."

-----------------------

Sara grasped Michael's hand firmly as they sat in the dimly lit exam room. After Michael had become stable she had sent the nurse away telling her to cancel all appointments for the day; there was no way she was going to leave Michael's side.

She lifted their interlocked hands to her lips and placed a gentle kiss to his knuckles. He looked so peaceful, she couldn't help but wonder what he was dreaming about.

-----------------------

Michael looked around the deserted field "Where are we now?"

Michael hit the ground as he heard the rapid sound of gunfire fill the air.

"Relax Michael, you're safe." His mother chuckled.

"Safe! People are shooting at us. Where are they coming from?" he asked looking around him.

Just then a younger Michael came flying from around a tree shooting ahead as he sought out cover. But before he could make it a pool of red spread out over his chest.

"I've been hit." he called out causing a smiling teenager to come out from hiding.

"Told you I'd get you Uncle Mike. You may be smart, but on the paintball field I rule." the teenager smiled proudly flexing his muscles.

"I have a confession LJ. I felt bad for you so I let you win."

"Yeah right! I saw you run and scream like a little girl."

"What can I say, I'm a fantastic actor." Michael said slinging his arm over LJ's shoulder.

"Whatever." LJ rolled his eyes.

There was another flash of light and suddenly they were standing in the pouring rain in the middle of a parking lot.

"AH!" Michael cried in surprise. "What's going on? Why are we standing in a parking lot in the pouring rain?!"

"Watch." His mom said in return with a huge smile. "This is my favorite one."

"What are you talking about..." Michael started but was interrupted by the sound of his own voice.

"Sara please wait." he watched himself reach out for a very perturbed Sara.

"Why Michael?" she asked turning around to face him.

"Why what?"

"Why are you doing this now after all this time?" she asked as a small tear ran down her cheek.

"Because I love you."

"Why? Why do you love me?"

"What do you mean why?"

"There's got to be a reason and I don't see what that reason is."

Michael watched on as his other self stood quiet. "Say something!" Michael urged. He had no idea why he was cheering himself on when he was so confused about what he was watching.

"That's what I thought." Sara replied angrily as she turned around and started to leave.

"I love your smile..." he finally spoke up. "That beautiful smile that can make anyone's heart melt."

She turned around to face him as he continued. "I love your hair, and the way it glows in the sunlight and how it always smells like roses. I love your laugh and your stubborness. I love how my stomach flips when your skin touches mine." he reached out and grasped her hand in his. "Or how my heart skips a beat when I look into your eyes. But most of all I love your heart, because I think it's amazing how you can still care about someone even when they don't deserve it. And because we're both going to get Pneumonia standing out here like this." he laughed while gesturing to the falling rain around them. "But if you need to hear why I love you... I can go on all night."

The world flashed white again as Michael was brought back to the same deserted playground he had been at just moments before.

"Michael?" his mother asked her still silent son.

"I'm so confused. How can any of that be true? How could I have a brother, a nephew, and a Sara and not remember who they are?" Michael asked quietly taking a seat on the swing.

"Michael, Emily has been lying to you this whole time. After the accident, when you lost your memory, she saw her chance and decided to take advantage of you. All of that, everything you just saw, is your real life, the life you should be living right now. Do you understand?"

Michael shook his head slowly. "No, not even close."

"Michael, we're out of time, you have to go back now. Promise me you'll remember what I told you." she pleaded with him.

"Okay." he said as his world flashed white for the last time bringing him back to reality.


	9. No Doubt

_A/N: I am so sorry about not updating. With a lethal combo of writer's block and holiday traveling I had no time to update. But haopefully this chapter makes up for it. _

_-Shelley_

**Chapter 9**

**No Doubt**

Michael slowly opened his eyes to take in the small examination room that he was being housed in. He looked over and saw that Sara was curled up tightly at his side. Her arm was placed gently on his chest over his heart with her head buried in his neck. He couldn't help but marvel at how perfectly their bodies molded together. The thought made him tighten his grip on her as she shifted in her sleep.

Michael closed his eyes as his mother's words came back to him.

_"Emily has been lying to you this whole time." _

_"She's not the one you're supposed to be with." _

_"Last year you and Sara practically had the forbidden romance of the century." _

_"Why are you trying to break her heart again?" _

_"Everything you just saw is your real life, the life you should be living right now." _

_"Promise me you'll remember what I told you." _

He had promised that he would remember and he still did. But it was all a little too surreal. What kind of person would pretend to be engaged to you? Amnesia or not how could he ever forget his own brother or nephew? How could he have forgotten Sara? Ever since he had met her she had changed his life. She is the most kind-hearted, caring, and sweet person that he had ever met, even though that isn't saying much given his current condition. But the fact that all doubts that he had flew right out of his mind the moment he holds her is all the proof that he could ever need.

**Emily**

Emily paced the living room of Michael's apartment nervously. Her mind had been racing ever since the nurse had called informing her of the episode Michael had had in the doctor's office. Although he was fine, she couldn't help but worry about what would happen once he woke up. There was every possible chance that his memory could be back and there was nothing she could do. She had tried to visit him in the hospital but the nurses had told her that his doctor gave a no-visitor regulation due to his condition. Emily had no doubt that Sara was going to do everything she could to keep her away.

But luckily she had a plan B. The doorbell to the apartment rang causing her to jolt for the door.

She opened the door to find plan B standing in the doorway.

**Michael/Sara**

Michael was drawing light circles on the exposed skin of Sara's hip when he felt her stirring. She picked her head up quickly when she realized that he was awake.

"Michael." she said scanning his body. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Um, pretty good. My throats a little sore though."

"It's a common side effect of the Celontin. You had a small seizure so we had to give you 200 mg's."

Michael just nodded his head as his eyes locked onto hers.

"I'm really glad you were here to take care of me Sara. Thank you."

Sara smiled as she felt her cheeks turning bright red. "It's not a big deal." she turned to look at him "I would do anything for you Michael."

"Sara... about before."

Sara lost her smile at the mention of their earlier conversation. "Let's not talk about that now," she said trying to get up but Michael tightened his grip preventing her from doing so. "Michael..."

"Sara please, there's just something I need to tell you."

"No, you really don't have to. I get it, you're getting married and it's not to me."

"That's the thing...I think that it should be."

Sara stopped trying to resist and turned her attention back over to him.

"You what?" she asked in shock by his statement.

"I wanna be with you, not Emily." Michael stated again. "Do you remember that day back in Fox River when I told you about Baja? Where the beers are..."

"50 cents, 25 cents at happy hour." Sara finished his sentence.

Michael just smiled at her as she took in what he had just told her.

"Fox River? You remember?" she asked, holding her breath waiting for his answer.

"Not everything, it's all still a little fuzzy but I remember bits and pieces."

"But how?"

"I had a little help. But I guess when I woke up and felt you in my arms it was like a jolt to my brain and suddenly I got flashes of what I could only assume was the past."

"Oh my God Michael that's amazing. Do you remember anything else? Anything more recent?" Sara asked enthusiastically.

"There was one other thing." Michael said losing his smile.

"What?" Sara asked losing a bit of hers as well.

"I remember you coming to my hotel room. You told me that you didn't love me and that you wanted to be with someone named John, not me." Michael said grimly.

Sara took a deep breath remembering that day, the worst day of her life, as well. "Michael..."

"Do you still feel the same way?" Michael asked nervously.

"NO!" Sara answered quickly. "It's hard to explain but when I told you that I was protecting you. I know that sounds a little weird but it was because I love you that I told you I didn't."

Michael nodded. "Do you get what I'm trying to say?" Sara asked nervously.

"Yeah, I do. Hopefully someday you'll be able to tell me the whole story." Michael said giving her a smile.

Sara smiled back. "I'd like that."

"Me too." Michael replied causing Sara to look away to try and hide her blush.

"Oh and Sara."

"Yeah." She said looking back up at him.

"I love you too," he said bringing his hand up to her cheek.

Sara was so stunned that she didn't even realize what was happening until she felt their lips connect. She linked her arms around his neck as she pulled him closer. She couldn't believe this was happening. It felt like she would never be able to get this back again. The kiss was over too soon though as Michael pulled back resting his forehead against hers.

"Michael." she said a little breathless.

"Yeah, I'm still here." Michael replied knowing how she was feeling. "It's real, I'm real. I'm not going anywhere... I promise."

"Good." she smiled bringing his lips back to hers.


	10. Plan B

**Chapter 10**

**Plan B**

"Hey Em, I got your message..." Robert trailed off when he saw his sister sitting in the living room next to a strange man that seemed a bit familiar.

"Hey Robert. I would like you to meet Mark." Emily replied with a smile.

"Mark, as in Mark Jacobs?" Robert asked a bit stunned.

"The one and only."

"Could I see you in the kitchen for a sec Sis?" Robert said nervously.

Emily nodded as she got up and walked into the kitchen.

"Are you crazy?" Robert asked wildly.

"What ever do you mean baby brother?" She asked innocently.

"You know what I mean. You can't bring a guy like that in here."

"I had no choice there were new developments with Scofield and I thought we could use an extra hand."

"Em he's a psychopathic serial killer. The last time he was out on the streets he tried to kill Sara and Michael."

"Exactly."

--

Michael and Sara lay out on the small examination table. Michael lay on his back looking up at the ceiling while Sara lay with her head on his chest listening to the soft rhythmic beating of his heart as she toyed with the fingers on his hand that was hugging her to him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked noticing that Michael had been quiet for awhile.

Michael's lips lifted up in a soft smile "I was just wandering how much longer it's going to be until one of your nurses walks in and sees the kind of 'special treatment' you give your patients."

Sara playfully slapped his chest at his remark.

"Hey! If you wanted to get physical all you had to do was say so..." Michael said turning their bodies so he was on top as his lips found hers.

"Ha ha, you're so funny Scofield." Sara said breaking their kiss.

"That's what I've heard." he replied trying to kiss her again.

"Uh uh," Sara said foiling his attempts "I wouldn't want anyone to walk in and see you getting any of that 'special treatment' your so worried about. I've already been caught everyday this week, I don't think they're going to be so leaneant this time."

"Ouch. That hurts, it really does Sara. It hurts right here," he said pointing to his heart and pouting.

"Oh, poor baby, I'm sorry what can I do to make it better?" she asked as she reached up to kiss his pouting lips.

"That's a start." Michael mumbled through the kiss.

As the kiss started to heat up more and more Sara suddenly felt Michael pull away.

"What's wrong?" she asked a little breathless.

"Nothing." Michael said as he pulled back and looked into her eyes. "I just...I just wanted to remember this...this moment. Sara you have no idea how happy I am right now, how happy you've made me."

Sara felt tears welling up in her eyes at the sincerity in Michael's voice. "And I'm not just talking about the last couple of hours. Ever since I met you in Fox River and then again on the street I felt like suddenly my life was complete. I never knew I could feel that way but you proved me wrong not once but twice." he reached and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm so sorry, I can only imagine what I must've put you through the last couple of weeks. I don't know how I could've ever forgotten about someone as amazing as you. But I did and I'm sorry about that. And I swear to that I will spend the rest of my life making it up to Sara. I swear to love, cherish, and most of all remember you until my dying days if you'll let me."

Sara felt the tears running down her cheeks but made no move to wipe them away as she looked into Michael's eyes. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, will you marry me?"

Sara let out a little chuckle "Yes, I would love to marry you Michael."

"Yes?!" Michael said in stunned disbelief.

"Yes!" Sara said wrapping her arms around him.

--

"Michael, I don't know if this is such a good idea." Sara said nervously as she and Michael stood at the entrance of the hospital corridor.

"Sara trust me, everything is going to be okay."

"What if something goes wrong? I can't...I won't lose you again."

"That is never going to happen I promise you," he said cupping her cheek in his hand. "Look, I'm just going to go to my apartment and get a few things packed up and I'll meet you back here in an hour or so."

Sara shook her head still unsure if she was ready to have him leave her again so soon. "What if Emily decides she isn't going to give up that easily. She's a psycho Michael I wouldn't put it past her to try something."

Michael moved closer and fully held her face in his hands. "Nothing's going to happen, I won't let it. You just have to have a little faith. Okay?"

"Okay." Sara said giving in.

"Okay." Michael said bringing her lips to his in a passionate kiss.

"I love you." Michael said resting his forehead against hers. "Nothing will ever change that."

"I love you too." Sara replied.

"I'll see you soon." Michael said as he pulled away and walked out the door.

--

It had only taken Michael half an hour to pack up most of his things. He was almost jumping with excitement at seeing Sara again. They had only been a part for 30 minutes but it had felt more like 30 years to Michael. He zipped up his last bag and was preparing to leave his room when he heard voices coming from the living room.

He cautiously walked into the room to find Emily and a man who looked familiar but whom he could never recall meeting sitting on the couch facing him.

"What's going on in here?" Michael asked.

"Michael we need you to come with us." Emily said getting from her position on the couch.

"No. Emily we're over okay. I know you've been lying to me this whole time. How could you do that to me, to Sara?"

"Michael, honey, we can talk about that another time. But right now I think it's in your best interest to come with us right now." she said.

"Who is this guy?" Michael asked looking pointedly at the man still sitting on the couch.

"This is Mark Jacobs, or maybe you'll remember him as John Ferris. Now enough with the formalities it's time to go." Emily said reaching for Michael's arm.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Michael said jerking his arm from hers.

"Oh, I think you are." Mark said pulling the pistol from his jacket pocket.

"Michael, we have Sara and if you don't come with us this nice man is going to put a bullet in her annoying little head and I'll bury he six feet under. So unless you want that to happen I suggest you move right now."


	11. The Game Begins

Chapter 11

The Game Begins

Michael, blind folded and gagged, was shoved into a small rickety chair in the corner of the warehouse. Mark not so gently removed the blind fold and ripped the gag from his mouth.

Michael quickly surveyed his surroundings. The room was large with sparse furnishings. There was a small couch on the other side of the room with a moderately sized TV next to it and the only source of light in the room was a single light bulb hanging above his head.

"Where's Sara?" he asked angrily when he noticed she wasn't in the room.

"We'll get to that in a moment first let's talk." Mark said toying with the pistol in his hands.

"Michael," Emily said jumping in. "Baby, I'm sorry it had to come to this but you left me no choice. I had hoped you would let this whole thing with Sara go and we could have just moved on with our lives and been happy together."

"No Emily, I would never have been happy with you. Even before I met Sara I wasn't happy with you and do you know why? Because you a psycho. And nobody will ever love a psycho." Michael said crudely. "Now tell me where Sara is."

Emily turned ten shades of red as she walked up and slapped him hard across the face.

"Why? Just answer that one question for me Michael. Why couldn't you just forget about her and be happy with me? I know I've done some harsh things but it's only because I love you and want to be with you. I just don't understand why you couldn't love me back." Emily said with tears brimming in her eyes.

For the first time in a long time Michael actually felt sorry for Emily. She wasn't a bad person; she just wanted someone to love and more importantly for someone to love her back. Sure the way she went about it was a bad one but Michael finally saw her for what she was, broken.

"Emily," Michael sighed. "It has nothing to do with you. Maybe if we had met before there would have been a chance for you and me but the truth is my heart belongs to Sara; it has since the moment I met her. I'm not telling you this to hurt you I'm just trying to get you to realize that I already found the one that I'm meant to be with. And I know that one day you will too. One day, when you least expect it, you're going to wake up and your going to meet the guy that makes life worth living. The guy that makes you smile when you're having the worst day of your life. He'll be the one who you get out of bed for in the morning, the one who makes your stomach flip at the mere mention of his name or at the prospect of seeing him, the one that makes you strive to be a better person because you know he deserves nothing but the best and you want to be the best for him. He'll be the one that you'll go to hell and back for just to be with at the end of the day."

"What makes you such an expert at that?" Emily asked with a bit of sarcasm.

"Because it happened to me. That's how I feel about Sara and when you find your soul mate you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. He's out there. You just have to find him."

Emily nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"We're done here." She said turning around to face Mark who had up to this point stayed quiet. "I've made a mistake and I'm sorry for that. Let him go."

"I don't think I can do that." Mark said calmly.

"What do you mean?" Emily's brow furrowed as she looked at the man in front of her. "This was my idea and I call the shots. Now be a good little boy and do as you're told. Untie him."

Mark walked over to Emily.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear before pulling the knife from his pocket and plunging it into her stomach. "But I call the shots now." he finished as Emily's body slid to the floor with a sickening thud.

Michael was speechless as he took in what had just taken place before him. Mark calmly wiped the blood from his knife as he made his way over to the TV in the corner of the room.

"Now as for you Mr. Scofield." he said positioning the screen in front of Michael.

Michael looked on in horror as the screen was turned on to reveal a distraught looking Sara who was also gagged and bound to a chair.

"Sara!" Michael said as he tried unsuccessfully to jerk free from his own confines. "I swear to God if you lay one finger on her I'll..."

"You'll do what." Mark asked. "You'll kill me? In case you haven't noticed Mikey I'm not the one tied to the chair. So how about you calm down before I just kill you both right now."

Michael stopped squirming and looked squarely at Mark.

"Good. Now in case you didn't notice I'm still a little upset about what happened the last time we were in this position. I really think I got the raw end of the deal, don't you?" Mark said looking Michael in the eyes.

"So here's the deal Mike. It's too easy to just kill a person. So we're going to play a bit of a game. Outside of that door lays your beloved Sara," he said cutting the ropes from Michael's wrist. "If you can get to her in 60 minutes you can both walk free. However, it's not going to be as easy as opening the door. Outside there's also various dangerous obstacles that you'll have to overcome in order to get to her in time. If you don't... well let's just say it's not going to be pretty." Michael stood up as the last barrier was cut.

Mark looked at him with a smug smile. "The clock starts now."


	12. Getting to Sara

Chapter 12

Getting to Sara

Michael opened the door to a seemingly innocent room. The room, he noticed, was empty except for a structure standing in the center of the room, a small security camera attached to the ceiling in the corner, and a large clock counting down the minutes left for him to complete his task. Curiosity getting the better of him, Michael made his way towards the structure.

"You're first task, Mr. Scofield, is quite easy." Mark's voice sounded throughout the room. "The structure you see before you is a quarter scale model of a building your old firm commissioned 6 years ago, the Whitmore Building. I'm sure you can remember that there were many flaws to the design before you; 13 to be exact. You're job is to find the 13 flaws and fix them before your time runs out. Easy enough right? But wait there's one more thing." Marks ominous voice loomed over the speakers. "Make one mistake or move an already correct piece out of place and a bomb attached to the structure will detonate and you and Sara will both be buried 6 feet under. Have fun."

Michael set to wok immediately. 6 years was a long time ago but fortunately for Michael he had worked non-stop on the blue prints for months and still remembered where most of the imperfections were and in no time had made 12 repairs without a single slip up. But he stopped there as he hit a mental road block not quite remembering where the 13th flaw was. He looked up and down the structure not being able to see it.

He took a frustrated step back as he tried to remember where the flaw had been. Then it hit him, on the 4th floor there had been an extra support beam that the client had demanded be removed because the room appeared too cluttered. The problem was he couldn't remember which one it was and if he were to remove the wrong piece not only would the roof collapse but Sara... NO! He couldn't let himself think like that.

"I can do this... I HAVE to do this." he said to himself.

He studied the room closely and found the piece he hoped was the right one. He wrapped his long fingers around the piece and prepared to remove it when he suddenly remembered which piece it actually was and it wasn't the piece in his hand! He quickly slid it into place and took a step back, holding his breath and saying a prayer.

Luckily he hadn't removed the piece enough to trigger anything. He let out a sigh of relief and quickly moved to remove the last offending piece of material, putting into his pocket with the others.

He heard the click of the lock as the door in front of him opened and granted him entry into the next room. He took a quick glance at the watch on his wrist which he had programmed to correspond with the timer on the wall. It had only taken him 15 minutes to complete the puzzle and he was now left with 45 minutes in which to get Sara back.

--

Unlike the first room, the second was anything but innocent. The whole room looked like one giant obstacle course with only one objective, kill the challenger.

"Your second task Mr. Scofield is your everyday run of the mill obstacle course with a few twists of my own. If you can make it to the other side of the room you'll be one step closer to Sara and to freedom."

Michael gingerly took a step forward and then another before he felt the floor start to give way beneath him. To avoid falling through he quickly sprinted forward as the floor continued to fall away behind him.

He spotted a platform just ahead and knew that was going to be his safety point. Suddenly he faltered and stumbled but not before he reached up to grip the edge as the last of the floor disappeared beneath him.

He finally managed to pull the rest of his body onto the platform as he saw gun shot and bullets fly by just barely missing him. He paused not quite knowing how to proceed. He surveyed the walls and noticed they were lined with pistols, each separated a foot apart. Upon further inspection he noticed that there was what appeared to be motion sensors attached to each.

He slowly moved his hand past the sensor and was rewarded when the guns fired. He figured his best chance at getting out alive would be to just run as fast as he could without getting hit. He lunged forward with all his energy past the first set of guns. But he proved not to be quick enough because he was instantly clipped in the shoulder by one of the bullets.

"Crap!!" he said angrily gripping his bleeding shoulder and leaning against the wall.

How was he supposed to get past those sensors? It's impossible. He had absolutely nothing he could use... "Wait..." he thought to himself. He dug into his pocket and found the 13 imperfections from his puzzle.

He heaved a piece back and threw in into the field of sensors causing he guns to go off. He listened as the pistols then took time to reload. That's how he would do it. Each time the guns took time to reload he could make his way past because they would have nothing to shoot.

So he did just that using all of his pieces to make his way across the minefield of pistols without incident.

After clearing the field he saw the open door about ten feet away. He looked at the space before him and nothing seemed to be trapped but he soon discovered he was wrong as a toxic gas was dispersed throughout. He quickly covered his nose and mouth with his shirt and ran towards the door.

As soon as he made it he slammed the door behind him, coughing the gas out of his lungs.

--

The room was dark and Michael couldn't see his hand in front of his face much less what else was in the room with him. He heard a muffled cry from somewhere within. The light suddenly switched on bringing a harsh light within.

"Congrats Mike. I really didn't think you would even make it this far." Mark's voice rang throughout the room as Michael's eyes tried to adjust to the new light.

"So here's your final test." Michael looked to the corner of the room where a man he had never seen before was bound and gagged to a chair.

"The man in front of you is named James Whistler. And for your final test your job is to kill him. So what you need to ask yourself Mike. Is Sara's life more important than the life of this man? A man who could be a husband, a father, a son? You decide Mike."

Michael looked at the knife lying on the ground and then to the panicked man in front of him. Was he really prepared to kill another man; to take someone's life? He loved Sara more than he ever thought one person could love another person but did he love her enough to do this?

Of course he did there was no thinking that one over but he also knew that Sara would never want him to do something like this.

He looked down to his watch and noticed he had been sitting there too long and time was running low. He knew what he had to do. He picked up the knife and walked over to the man in the chair and turned it to face the wall.

He bent down low so the guy could hear him. "Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you. Just lie very still and don't move. Got it?"

The man nodded his head as Michael made a harmless sweeping motion across his neck smearing the knife over his bullet wound in the process.

He then turned towards the surveillance cam and showed the knife drenched in blood, the blood from Michael's arm.

"Are you happy?" He screamed angrily into the room. "I did everything you asked. Now give me Sara!"

It was quiet for a moment until the lock to the door clicked and the door slid open allowing Michael to enter into the next room.

--

The next room had more to it than the last. On the far wall were two separate doors: one wood and the other metal. Next to each a monitor was attached to the wall and a chair sat in the center of the room.

"What the hell is going on?" Michael shouted.

"I lied Mike, there's one more test." Mark's voice sounded throughout. "Behind one of these doors is Sara." Mark said as the two monitors came on. "In the other one is someone who just looks like her."

Michael looked at the two monitors, they showed the same thing: a women blind folded and tied to a chair in the middle of an empty room. They both looked exactly alike that it was impossible to tell which was which from looking on the monitors.

"And I've taken the liberty of removing Sara's engagement ring so the game isn't spoiled for you. But don't worry I'm keeping it safe in my pocket until then." Mark's voice sounded once again. "Don't take too long Mike, time's running out and if you don't choose or if you choose the wrong one then...well I'll let your imagination take it from there."

Michael looked frantically over the monitors then down to his watch. Only 5 minutes left and he had no idea which door to choose.


	13. Which door?

Chapter 13

Which Door?

Michael slid heavily to the floor as he stared at the two doors in front of him. He only had 5 minutes left but as he looked up at the two screens he knew there was no way he could make a decision, the two scenes were too identical.

Then something caught his eye as he remembered something from the day before...

_"I don't know if this is such a good idea Michael." Sara said nervously knowing of his impending departure. "I'm not ready to let you go already." _

_"Sara, I'm not leaving for good. I'm just going to get a few things and then I'll be right back... I promise." Michael tried to reassure her. _

_Sara shook her head and looked down at her and hands. "I know I'm just being silly but we don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to these things." _

_Michael looked at the woman standing in front of him and realized the last couple of months had worn more on her than he thought. They had gone from finding each other to losing each other to being reunited only to be ripped apart once again. Could he really blame her for being worried that history would repeat itself? But this was something he had to do. He needed to permanently close the door in Emily's face before he could move on with Sara and give her the kind of life she deserved, the life they deserved, together._

_"Sara." he said softly moving in closer and laying a hand on top of her shaking ones._

_The one word made her melt as she pulled him closer, melding her body into his and burying her face in the crook of his neck._

_"I know you're scared, I am too." he spoke softly into her ear. _

_"I just don't wanna lose you again." she mumbled. _

_"That's never gonna happen. I promise."_

_Sara broke away from the embrace and took a step back "You can't promise something like that Michael." She said crossing her arms over her chest. _

_Michael was at a loss for words. Obviously there was nothing he could say that could change her mind. Then it hit him. Maybe he couldn't say anything to change her mind but maybe there was something he could do... _

_He quickly surveyed the room for something, anything that he could use. Finally spotting two pieces of string, one red and one blue, he quickly moved the short distance across the room. _

_Strings in hand, he made his way back over to Sara. _

_Wordlessly he held out his hand to her. _

_"What?" she asked confused. _

_"Let me see your wrist." he said gesturing to her right arm. _

_She complied slipping her delicate wrist into his gentle hand. _

_Michael wrapped the strings around her wrist tying a large complicated knot at the end. _

_"This is called a middleman's knot." he explained as he finished tying it off. _

_"The knot was originally used in Celtic culture to symbolize true love." he looked up and locked eyes with her. _

_"It's made by two different pieces of string, the red one symbolizes you, and the blue one symbolizes me. The two different pieces come together in perfect harmony to create a knot; a knot which has no beginning and most definitely, no end. You see Sara the reason I'm telling you this is because you and I are like this knot, we have no end. Because no matter where you go or which direction you take, you'll always find that there's no way to break it, it's there forever. Just like my love for you." he said wiping away the tears that had begun to roll down her cheeks. _

_Sara was at a loss for words at how to respond to such a thing. So she opted to say the one thing that was weighting heavily on her heart. "I love you too Michael."_

It was the knot! He could clearly see it on Sara's wrist underneath the ropes around her wrist.

He got up and approached the wooden door that was said to have Sara in it. He tried to open the door but it was locked. He jiggled the knob fiercely but was not successful.

He stepped back and delivered a devastating kick to the door as it came unhinged and fell to the ground.

Michael had a quick to second realize that the chair was empty before the door at the other end of the room opened and Mark stepped in with a gun pointed at him and pulled the trigger twice hitting him in the chest.

Michael fell to the ground as Mark stepped further into the room. "Congrats Mike, you picked the right door. But did you really think that I was just going to give Sara up just like that after all she put me through. No, we have a lot of catching up to do; Sara and I. But don't worry I haven't forgotten about you. You won the game so here's your prize." and with that Mark delivered one last shot to Michael's chest and his world went black.

**_AN: I know alot of you are probably mad at me right now but this is the last chapter of this story but there will be a third installment coming in a few days so hang in there with me. Please review and give me some feedback!_**


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